Moxam seeks to lead football association

Renard Moxam has launched a bid to lead the Cayman Islands Football Association, saying the organization needs a fresh start under new leadership following negative publicity in the wake of corruption allegations that have shaken the world game.

Mr. Moxam said he has secured the necessary support from member clubs to run as a candidate for first vice president at the association’s annual congress this month.

That role currently carries the responsibility of acting president, following the suspension of Jeffrey Webb from football-related activities by world governing body FIFA pending the outcome of his trial in the U.S.

Bruce Blake is currently first vice president and acting president of the Cayman Islands Football Association.

Announcing his candidacy in a letter to clubs this week, Mr. Moxam said, “The recent global and regional allegations against FIFA and CONCACAF and its senior leadership have cast a cloud over football all around the world as well as right here at home.

“Like many persons, I fully respect the notion of innocent until proven guilty, and I still wish and hope for the best outcome in this situation. But we are also all aware that our local association and the sport in general in Cayman has suffered and continues to suffer a negative impact on its image and credibility due in part to these recent events.”

Mr. Moxam, the current national teams director, told the Cayman Compass that some of the current CIFA leadership has been involved in the association for too long to offer a genuine opportunity for change. He said new leadership, new vision and real reforms are needed to restore the image of Cayman football and bring sponsors and community partners back into the game.

“Without a positive, credible image, local commercial partners and government will have major reservations relative to re-engaging in sponsorship relationships with CIFA,” he said.

Mr. Moxam said both CONCACAF and FIFA are looking to new leaders and ideas to clean up their image, and CIFA needs to do the same.

He believes reforms, including fixed-term limits for board members and greater financial transparency and accountability, need to be introduced.

“CIFA’s credibility and image is at all-time low,” he said. “In my opinion, the recent events force us to turn over a new page and rethink our governance of football in Cayman.

“I have a lot of passion and conviction for the history and the future of the sport. Equally I understand that the changes cannot be done by myself alone and I appreciate the need for collective efforts and humility in this proposed task. If successful, I want to work tireles sly in the interest of Cayman football.”

He said he supports greater financial accountability, including the publication of detailed quarterly or biannual accounts, and open tendering for FIFA-funded projects.

He added, “After discussions with membership clubs, I know there is consensus that there must be a total independent audit done on all administrative and financial matters relative to CIFA. That should happen parallel with a complete analysis on the state of the game in our islands, followed by consultations with membership clubs and then approving a development plan which would be a road map for the game going forward.”

But he said he would resist some reforms proposed at the world level, in particular potential changes to the one-country, one-vote system that gives Cayman an equal say in world football to any other country, including global powers such as Brazil and Germany.

Mr. Moxam met representatives from several clubs on Tuesday to outline his platform and to ask them to back his candidacy.

If elected, he said he would work with clubs to build a long-term development plan for the game, including reater focus on youth development, training of coaches and technical support to clubs.

He would require the support of a majority of club delegates at the association’s Aug. 29 congress to become first vice president of the organization.

Mr. Moxam added, “The sport belongs to all members of the community, football clubs and their players. We should not lose track of that understanding. Equally, the players and clubs must take their roles and responsibilities relative to the principles of the sport seriously.

“There needs to be a concentrated effort to reconnect the public with the sport and a bigger/better appreciation and understanding of the good people and events that make up our football history. In turn, we need to embrace and use some of that positive history to build a respected football culture and great future for our youngsters and the community at large.”

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“There needs to be a concentrated effort to reconnect the public with the sport and a bigger/better appreciation and understanding of the good people and events that make up our football history. In turn, we need to embrace and use some of that positive history to build a respected football culture and great future for our youngsters and the community at large.”

Mr. Moxam…

These are lofty word and ideals but, as we both know…

It is much harder to turn lofty words and ideals into effective action and positive results in any endeavour.

In football, it might even be that much harder once the quality and integrity of the game has been lost or voluntarily surrendered.

And this is exactly what has happened in the Cayman Islands

… but, as they say…

Its never too late for a shower of rain.

You know, as well as anyone steeped, experienced and knowledgeable in the game what needs to be done.

You mention commercial interests and community involvement.

For the trust and involvement of those important factors to be gained…

The quality of the basic product, the club game, must improve drastically and quickly…we’ve spoken about this face-to-face.

It pains me deeply to visit a club game here and want to leave after 10 minutes because of seeing a level of football being played that is not even of the standard of the higher levels of Sunday league football played in Britain…totally recreational players who go out for a Sunday morning game…but take that game quite seriously.

I,as you know, have been played football, both in Jamaica and Cayman and played for you as a coach, in what was a level of football at the time that was reaching the standard of lower level professional football in most countries, although at that time, the players were all technically amateur.

At that time, the top players in Cayman were amateur in name only and the results achieved against visiting professional teams spoke clearly of that fact.

Now is not the time for recrimminations.

I have two suggestions for you to ponder on, should you achieve your goal of leading CIFA.

FIFA rules for player eligibility for national teams have changed; the Cayman Islands, being a BTO, can import professional players from the UK to boost the club and national teams here and be quite within the rules.

Consider doing this..with the requisite restrictions to numbers of players per team so as to ensure the development and progress of the local players.

The commercial interests that you speak of will only be interested in quality football and with all due respect…

That, you cannot deliver with the current player pool available now.

If you get good football being played here again, along with proper marketing and promotion, the crowds will come to watch local football again.

Second, and this might sound like blasphemy to the Webb supporters still entrenched in the game.

Dig up and replace that wretched artificial field that has desecrated the hallowed ground of football in Cayman, the Annex.

Replace it with a quality grass field, at any cost…and re-establish the traditions that made Cayman’s football what it once was.

No players, young or old, will ever learn or be able to play quality football on that surface…the ball cannot be controlled, handled and made to do the player’s bidding on that surface…it can only accommodate a kick-and-rush and run non-football game and that is exactly all that I see being played in Cayman now.

Take these suggestions as my support for your candidacy and good luck in your quest.